NFC Ring Opens Many Doors

Near field communication, a.k.a. NFC, is at a turning point. Excitement for wearable technology is at an all-time high with the launch of hotly anticipated products in recent months. Few, however, have proven practical for the everyday use. NFC is the gateway technology to more practical wearable products by providing one simple solution: information exchange. A few weeks ago, I hosted a webinar called The Power of a Ring to demonstrate how wearable technology and NFC are making everything from completing payments to unlocking our doors more convenient.

Functional NFC technology is only possible if more engineers and hackers are comfortable implementing it in their designs. An understanding of today’s NFC trends and international design standards, as well as of the resources available for all experience levels, are a must to eliminating barriers to entry. The design possibilities for NFC are limited only by the ideas of the engineer working with it.

The NFC ring.
(Source: www.nfcring.com)

My own inspiration for the NFC ring came after a friend misplaced his keys and locked himself out of his house. The resulting design was one NTAG203 chip on the inside of a sleek metal band for personal data and a second NTAG203 chip positioned on the outer side of the band for public data. Since then, the NFC ring has become a substitute for business cards and house keys around the world.

The NFC ring was created entirely on open source. We wanted third parties to adopt the ring and consider making their own NFC-ready devices. Raspberry Pi and Arduino both have NFC modules available that work great with the ring. Sharing is a big part of NFC’s core functionality. That’s where we’re seeing the best applications of this technology.

We already know NFC is being used in the payments space. Ironically, it’s the more nontraditional applications of NFC that are making wearable technology practical for everyday use.

First responders and health professionals are looking for ways to leverage NFC jewelry to quickly identify and obtain information from patients in emergency situations. The UK’s National Health Service is working with our team to develop a system for dementia patients to find their way home.

Advertisers are designing billboards that are NFC-compatible. Imagine walking up to a poster for a shoe store or movie theater and receiving recommendations based on the personal profile housed on your NFC device?

Teachers managing oversize classes will find the challenge a little easier when they use NFC apps to scan textbooks and track their students’ progress. In any situation that benefits when data is stored and shared both easily and efficiently, NFC is a fit. For that reason, there’s little in the way of hackers looking to get started with NFC design.

When designing NFC-based devices, certain design standards need to be met to ensure that all forms of NFC can interact with existing and future devices. ISO/IEC 18000-3 is the type of RFID communication used by NFC devices. It’s an international standard for wireless communication at frequencies of 13.56 MHz on Type A and B cards. ISO/IEC 14443 allows the ID cards used to store information in NFC tags.

Technical specifics aside, the NFC devices must be within 4 cm of each other to transmit information. The interrogating device, functioning at full duplex, sends a signal to and powers the NFC tag, which operates at half duplex. This is how the device is powered without a battery, like the NFC ring. PJM, or phase jitter modulation, transmits commands that are answered by the tag by sending charges through its coil. Most NFC shields come with tags, so it’s the quickest way for those familiar with prototyping platforms like BeagleBone Black and Arduino to implement successful designs.

John McLear is the founder of Primary Technology and the Etherpad Foundation, and inventor of the NFC Ring. He has a background in software engineering and education. John is based in Bradford, UK.

Nicely done. I'm sorry I missed your kickstarter campaign. It's much more stylish than most wearable technology on the market.

There's a paragraph that I need clarified:

Teachers managing oversize classes will find the challenge a little easier when they use NFC apps to scan textbooks and track their students' progress. In any situation that benefits when data is stored and shared both easily and efficiently, NFC is a fit. For that reason, there's little in the way of hackers looking to get started with NFC design.

I assume this is only for e-books. Is that correct? If there's "little in the way of hackers" that's great for customization but how is personal security addressed?

There is an app called Classdroid that is used to take pics of kids "analogue work", using NFC would be a simple way to identify the pupil so the teacher doesn't have to pick them from a list of pupil names (30+)

So to answer your question, it's not just for ebooks.

We talk about personal security here I think this should answer your questions, let me know if not.

Here's another possible application - Wearable NFC devices can be used as a safety interlock to ensure that machinery can only be operated by authorized personnel. A machine can be programmed to shut off as soon as the authorized operators' tag stops responding to interrogation.

This is already under study by handgun manufacturers to use as a safety device. Only the ring wearer would be authorized to fire a gun, since the ring would have to come into contact with the grip or trigger to release the safety and fire the weapon. Therefore, unauthorized use, such as by children in the home, would be virtually impossible.

Nadine certainly has made a valid point, which I would add to. Are we all ready to give up a huge aqmoujnt of our privacy so that marketers can target us each with what they think we want? That is described in glowing terms as one big benefit of this technology.

About making the medical data available to emergency responders, and any hackers interested enough to check. A system that did that fairly well was used in both world wars, it was called "dog tags", and that unique serial number would link back to a data base. The same could be used today, with a barcode tag and an electronic rader. Not quite new technology, but fully developed and proven, available off the shelf.

What we have with the NFC is an invenion desparatly seeking to findmitself an application so that the sellers can profit. BUT considering the loss of privacy involved, do we really want this monster out of the box?

What happens if you lose it, or someone takes it from you? They have access to your house, your car, whatever. I don't know if I am comfortable with that idea. The movies where they have to cut off your finger for the print, not anymore, just steal the ring.

I really like the machinery application. It would be nice(being an ex-machinist) to go to lunch and know that no one can mess with your machine while you are away...that would be nice. Also for the saftey, but more for that reason...we had a supervisor that liked to play with our programs while we went to lunch...we had a name for him I can't say here...lol I see benefits, I also see negatives. Depends on the usage.

I also have to say...the gun application may be the best. I had a buddy over and he just grabbed my gun and started waving it around.......scared me to death, it would have been nice to know that it couldn't fire. I don't have kids, but to know that your kids couldn't play with your guns would be the best thing ever invented as so many accidents happen.

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